Episode 103: TVD’s Pictures of You

Quotes of the Podcast: “Matt says, ‘I’m a busboy, Rebekah,’ and he has a good point. Yeah, he has all these characteristics: he’s kind, he’s loyal, people root for him (Who, I do not know), but he’s struggling to pay bills; he’s struggling to buy food; he had to be handed a mansion; he has no insurance; he was on foot those weeks when he did not have a car; he probably had to call people for rides to get to work. Rebekah has such a narrow-minded and two-dimensional view of the human condition, and it makes no sense. Yeah, Matt’s human, but he’s struggling. Class-wise, he is not in a position of privilege and neither was his sister when she was alive. [….] Matt is human: his mom is not there; his mom is constantly disappointing him; his mom won’t step up. [….]. Matt is human, but his life is not charmed. Being human isn’t enough for Matt, and Rebekah does not realize that, and the writing does not acknowledge that.”

“Rebekah’s been on this earth a thousand years and all she can come up with for what it means to be human is having kids and growing old and falling in love. I mean yes, she’s been a box for ninety years, so that could explain her idealism with regards to humanity, but she acts like she’s never so much as interacted with a human. She drinks human blood, so here we go again: humans are weak, prone to sickness, fragile, frail, at the bottom of the supernatural food chain.”

“Back when Rebekah was human, she could get in trouble with her father for handling a knife. Remember that scene between her and Klaus? Klaus said she would get in trouble for holding that knife. So there you go, Rebekah. The human condition: not everyone is equal. I mean you will be more equal than any other person because you’re a White woman, but in some ways you won’t be equal because you’re a woman. You’re a White woman, so you’re gonna have it better than every other woman. But you’re a woman, so you’re not gonna have it as good as the White man, okay? But no, none of this. Humanity=growing old, falling in love, having kids, dying old.”

“She knows the cruelty of humanity! Rebekah knows the cruelty of humanity! Her mother killed her. Her mother and father killed her and her siblings. Why does she have such an idealized view of what it means to be human? I mean please at least have her say, “I hope it’ll be better than the first time around.” But no. No. She’s just like, “Oh it looks so nice; I want it; I wanna be like that.” No sense, no excuse, so disrespectful for this character.”

*I gave my opinion on the 4.21 synopsis, but there’s no reason to link it here since it will have it’s own post soon.

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9 thoughts on “Episode 103: TVD’s Pictures of You”

Check out the podcast for how you can participate in the Mystic Falls High Senior Superlatives! Plus you’ll get a chance to prepare for a post (named on the podcast) that I will publish after the finale.

I just invented a new trope: listening to podcasts about shows you don’t even watch o____o. I’d rather listen to your recap than watching the show again just because they’re trying to get the Bonnie stans to watch again. I can’t with lovesick abusive idiot #1 and #2. Actually I heard that it was a “good Bonnie episode”, therefore I had to know your thoughts on it…and since I’m not tumblr’ing anymore. Dang. But really, why can’t we download episodes anymore?
“Back in 1864, following after Miss Caroline” – Haha, isn’t Bonnie already a modern-day magical mystic slave for these people?
The scene wouldn’t have been problematic if they were both trying out dresses.

The humanity/vampirism part is accurate. I agree with most of it. Humans with no humanity…those serial-killer/sociopaths dudes?…Ted Bundy and others of his kind. Human beings are very complex. Lack of empathy/cruelty/darkness is a very real thing to humans. Existential crisis…Let’s not. Our emotions can be heightened as well. That’s why people commit suicide or kill or suffer from social anxiety or OCD’s. These vampires are like really annoying self-centered humans with superpowers. This basic show cannot…

“She’s not a good person. Why isn’t it clicking in her mind?”
Let’s take a sec to remember that she’s the girl that said something along the lines that her family was more worthy of life (after 1000 freakin years) than anyone else. I’d say after 1000 years, you’ve pretty much had your fill of life but whatever.

It makes me mad that they’re treating humanity as if it’s an easy thing and vampirism the hardest thing on earth. So much bs. I have a friend that was kicked out by her parents and had to crash at my place for a while. She struggled to get a job because she needed to get through college on her own. She struggled to have a family member let her stay at their place and they make her feel everyday that she is a charge. I myself live with my little sister and we don’t have our parents to support us. We had to get over that and live on and I had to keep studying no matter what, because that’s what you do. No one cares, no one will hold your hand and there’s not a guy to run in and save you in real life. You gotta pick yourself up and keep going. There are billions of people that live in misery and have nothing to look up to. No one has it easy all the time as a human, for millions of reasons. It’s so insulting how they keep treating it like it’s simple and easy for everyone. Humanity is not all rainbows and sparkles.

“It’s taken as fact that every character on tvd would turn off their emotions if they could.” – I agree about everything you said after this. Matt was ooc.
The family love is treated in a shallow way. It’s definitely not Charmed.

The Rebekah test thing sounds so utterly ridiculous, indeed. Wouldn’t it have made more sense for her to say Elijah why she wants and thinks she deserves to be human? Make a list or something of the things she can’t have as a vampire and she can only obtain as a human?

I’m reading “Kill Klaus” too lol. Such a great story. Some of the reviewers are tripping though…Ugh.

“She’s a jackass” – The Elena (and Damon and Stefan imo) apologists are the worst, really. Considering how the switch works, by only getting rid of the few decent aspects of Elena Gilbert (go fetch, switch), it’s telling that she felt the need to attack her friends instead of the abusive idiots. Basically, it highlights her selfishness. It is a character flaw, which I do not mind (asoiaf fan over here) when they are treated as flaws and not romanticized. Subconsciously, I think she doesn’t attack her love leeches because they’re feeding into this ego of hers. They’re a reminder of her self-worth.

“If she could just drop Elena from her life.” – Gurl, the three morons will have to die before it happens. Bonnie’s been marked. And with this Bamon bs coming, it will get worse and worse.

Beremy part: no thoughts. I get you. I have one ship… Bonniexhappiness. If Jeremy makes her happy, why not? But with their track record, it’s a few moments of hope then…something happens. They’re not treating Bonnie ships seriously.

I can’t believe she actually said this to Bonnie “walking reminder” of what what now? o.O. What are your love leeches then? What is Klaus then? Rebekah? What about your own face Elena? Katherine killed your brother. You have the same face as a sociopath/murderer? This girl is basicness with lipstick and bad fasion taste.

Has it ever been acknowleged or reminded how much a lot of vampires on the show owe to Bonnie in general?

Why are there pictures of Jeremy and Bonnie outside? o.O
“Beremy representative” – That’s nice. It looked like this was nice…I’m being sarcastic because everytime they give something good to Bonnie it’s to do something awful with her later on. They really do not like her haha.

They don’t know shit about Silas’ powers because they don’t know how to prioritize.

What is April’s still on the show? This kid serves no purpose.

All the logic fails’ bits were hilarious really. You crack me up lol.

Bonnie healed herself? What now? Bonnie’s powers make less and less sense. Isn’t that a vampire thing? Why does she even keep saying things like “I don’t think I’m strong enough” when she can pull more magic when the plot decides?

I agree with your thoughts on expression and magic. They didn’t even establish rules to define what is good and what is bad. “Blood magic”, “Spirit magic”…They really don’t make any rules so they can write magic the way they need.

I will listen to your review of the Originals pilot. Didn’t watch it because I’ve seen this leash/whip quote and I was kinda…shocked. There’s a difference between being aware of the subtext in a show and seeing this subtext materialize into plot points, and basically become the vampire version of “Save the Pearls”.

Qetsiyah did another thing to him? Okay. Okay.

In a perfect world, Silas would have been played a super fine native american actor but nope…angsting a little bit over what Silas could have looked like forever.
You know there was this line by Jaime Lannister in asoiaf about Jeyne Westerling/Talisa when she married Robb “Pretty enough for a child, but not a girl to lose a kingdom for.”
Well, if I were a super powerful witch, I wouldn’t get crazy jealous over a dude (I wouldn’t but if I were this kind of person) to the point of creating a whole other dimension to keep him away from another girl because I’m butt-hurt and bitter unless he is all of that. I think it’s stupid to create another dimension for such selfish, personal reasons, but if you do…the dude better be bangin. Qetsiyah sounds like one of those mean girls at my old school…with powers.

Congratulations on graduating!!!

Yikes, so many followers… too bad I quit, would’ve been your 500th lol. But you’ll get this 500th person soon enough.

Human beings are very complex. Lack of empathy/cruelty/darkness is a very real thing to humans. Existential crisis…Let’s not. Our emotions can be heightened as well. That’s why people commit suicide or kill or suffer from social anxiety or OCD’s.

Exactly! Most of these vampires, the ones we see AND the ones we meet walk in the daylight (in the backdoor pilot, Marcel apparently got a nameless, faceless witch to make daylight jewlery for every single vampire in his entourage -___-). They’re just humans with a different diet. And no matter how many meta lines JP or Dries insert about Damon being too old for blah, blah, blah, BTVS did a better job of reminding the audience of the age and lifestyle difference between Angel and the high school kids.

It’s so insulting how they keep treating it like it’s simple and easy for everyone. Humanity is not all rainbows and sparkles.

Yes, yes. It cheapens a lot that they try to do in the show, including the vampires’ angsts.

The family love is treated in a shallow way. It’s definitely not Charmed.

Before or after the backdoor pilot aired, JP talked about the Whedon-esque stuff that she’s doing, and it’s like: lady, you’re not even doing Charmed-esque stuff (and Charmed was seen as less high-brow than BTSV and A:TS) or even PLL-esque stuff (that show doesn’t get enough recognition for how much it prioritizes women and women relationships).

Wouldn’t it have made more sense for her to say Elijah why she wants and thinks she deserves to be human?

She did. Both she and Klaus made their case at the dinner table with Elijah. Then Elijah told Klaus that his “personal discomfort” (Silas torturing him) is no reason for him to have the cure. Klaus got pissed and stalked up to Rebekah and said, “When you’re sick and you’re begging me for vampire blood, I’ll turn you away. And then I’ll compel you to forget me.” And he left and Rebekah asked Elijah where the cure was and that’s when Elijah went into the “You’re emotional, a little immoral, this might be one of your whims, etc etc.”

Some of the reviewers are tripping though…Ugh.

You ain’t lyin’.

Subconsciously, I think she doesn’t attack her love leeches because they’re feeding into this ego of hers. They’re a reminder of her self-worth.

I think the same thing! I don’t mind this character flaw either. It just gets my goat that it’s not acknowledged on the show, and I know it isn’t because she….still has friends -___-. The closest they come to acknowledging Elena’s ugly flaws is in private Delena scenes.

They’re not treating Bonnie ships seriously.

Nope. Ugh!

This girl is basicness with lipstick and bad fasion taste.

LOL!

Has it ever been acknowleged or reminded how much a lot of vampires on the show owe to Bonnie in general?

Nope. Why, don’t you know that Bonnie does all she does out of the goodness of her heart. Why ever would it be pointed out that anyone owes her anything?

All of the pictures were outside. There were like two rectangular bilboards and the pictures were in slide-show form.

I’m being sarcastic because everytime they give something good to Bonnie it’s to do something awful with her later on

I’m preparing myself as much as I can.

They don’t know shit about Silas’ powers because they don’t know how to prioritize.

Or investigate or research.

Yep, she healed herself. We saw the skin close in on itself. Bonnie just gets power upgrades without working for them. She hasn’t worked and cultivated her powers since season 2 before she happened upon the witch house.

Qetsiyah did another thing to him? Okay. Okay.

*Sigh.*

Well, if I were a super powerful witch, I wouldn’t get crazy jealous over a dude (I wouldn’t but if I were this kind of person) to the point of creating a whole other dimension to keep him away from another girl because I’m butt-hurt and bitter unless he is all of that. I think it’s stupid to create another dimension for such selfish, personal reasons, but if you do…the dude better be bangin.

Agreed! What is even Silas’ personality? So far we have no idea WHY Qetsiyah was in love with him. What attracted her to him? It’s supposed to be enough that he’s White Silas.

Congratulations on graduating!!!

Thank you!

Oh man, I thought I had cut out the part where I talk about the number of subscribers, lol.

The thing is, if I were a witch, I don’t care what you look like, that you broke my heart, I’m not gonna create another dimension and wear myself out and risk my connection with my ancestors, my bond with nature just because my little heart is broken. I’d probably just go chill in the woods (considering the time period), take a walk, set his tent on fire for revenge or something lol. Did she even have a relationship with him? Was it that serious? Were they even on a first base level or did she just see him and went “I want this white boy and Imma do whatever it takes to have this white boy.”
Qetsiyah, chill, he’s not the only dude on the freakin’ planet. Damn. I’m telling you she sounds like the wicked witch of the west or the evil witch in Snow White…shallow and petty.

As for Silas? Let me guess…He has a great personality.

I’m a Bonnie shipping whore (I even crack ship her with the Winchesters from Supernatural…show that you should totally watch when you got the time to make your own opinion lol) and I read Bonnie fics with anyone as long as it’s well-written and in character. I don’t like how they made Beremy on the show. I think Jeremy’s a good guy but they totally messed him up. I don’t see why he did this to her considering how he protected her and was the only person in the group that put her life on the same level as Elena Gilbert’s. He was genuine when they were together. He was fascinated with her, mesmerized. The way it looked at her… I don’t know why I had this “burn Jeremy” reaction when he cheated on her with Anna when it was obviously an ooc move. I just couldn’t get over it I guess. It’s still canon that he cheated.

It’s okay. You have a right to be proud of your accomplishments, even if it’s just the internet.

I’m currently reading “The Vampire chronicles” and I just wanted to point out why these vampires (in opposite to tvd’s vampires) can never hang out with the humans and it’s justified that they lost touch with their humanity. Even if it’s different for Louis than it is for Lestat, there are still objective facts because of which they can’t even pretend to be human.

– They can’t have sex. Everything else, particularly drinking blood, is a metaphor for sex because their senses are heightened but their reproductive system is dead. They can’t be aroused by sexual acts and get erections. No blood, no pleasure.

-They cannot eat. No food at all, ever.

– They look different. It’s been said countless times that their demon nature is revealed by candlelights/artificial lights. Humans do not see humans when they see them.

– They feel compelled to kill. They feel unfulfilled if they don’t. They need to kill almost as much as they need to feed. They couldn’t “feed” from blood bags because they need to feel that they’re sucking life away from the person.

– They sleep during the day in coffins. Classic vampire feature.

– They can never physically change. (Still trying to figure out how Rebekah grew that hair…)

A quote from Interview:
“Being a vampire for him meant revenge. Revenge against life itself. Every time he took a life it was revenge. It was no wonder, then, that he appreciated nothing. The nuances of vampire existence weren’t even available to him because he was focused with a maniacal vengeance upon the mortal life he’d left.”

It’s an entire difference in lifestyle. I think the whole “vampires can live amongst us” thing they’re using now breaks the whole point of what a vampire is. I’m not even a purist (I love “Les anges mordent aussi” de Sophie Jomain) but I can’t with how they’re trying to make vampires hip and “not so different from us” because that’s not the point of these characters.

The thing is, if I were a witch, I don’t care what you look like, that you broke my heart, I’m not gonna create another dimension and wear myself out and risk my connection with my ancestors, my bond with nature just because my little heart is broken.

Same. It’d be one thing if she created this dimension to trap some impossible to kill evil-doer until another witch could figure it out, but no. She’s trapping scores of supernatural people there because she couldn’t read the signs and realize Silas was triffling.

Did she even have a relationship with him? Was it that serious? Were they even on a first base level or did she just see him and went “I want this white boy and Imma do whatever it takes to have this white boy.”

Lol. They were best friends. I guess Qetsiyah didn’t take kindly to be Friend-Zoned.

I don’t see why he did this to her considering how he protected her and was the only person in the group that put her life on the same level as Elena Gilbert’s.

It doesn’t make any sense. It really came out of nowhere. It’s like they were trying to make up for dropping Jeremy’s reaction to Anna’s death back in early season 2.

Yeah, they’re taking the “vampires can live among us” thing too far. I mean JP’s vampires have heartbeats. And her ghosts are corporeal; they’re solid. Like, what? Even before the veil came down, Anna was touching Jeremy. The only thing is that he couldn’t feel it. It’d be one thing if they LOOKED solid, but they went through things, but that’s not what she and her team did. So their vampires have beating hearts and their ghosts can touch and be touched. Okay.

Okay, so Rebecca wants to be a human. Although it obviously won’t happen, doesn’t she realize that she could become human, and then die the next day? You never know when it’s your time to go, and she’s giving up lot because she WANTS to grow old and have kids. In the grand scheme of things, isn’t that what we all want at one point or another? I think so, but that doesn’t mean we’ll get it..That’s just something that has been on my mind for a while.